Better living through farming

Better living through farming

Dr. Dan Fox, a member of Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, explores the connection between sustainable agriculture and a healthier lifestyle.

Dan Fox

Age: 55.

Hometown: Timmonsville.

Claim to fame: Hobby farmer who experiments with sustainable aquaculture and agriculture techniques.

Day job: Dr. Fox is an anesthesiologist at McLeod Regional Medical Center.

Community involvement: Member of the Timmonsville Church of Christ.

As a youth: Lived for 10 years with missionary parents in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Guiding philosophy: Raise children that honor God and “use the farm and all the assets that He has given us for His honor and glory.”

Co-op affiliation: Member of Pee Dee Electric Cooperative.

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Dr. Dan Fox tosses a handful of fish pellets into a water tank and the surface momentarily roils with tilapia. Hundreds of the hardy, ubiquitous fish populate two such containers in a greenhouse on Fox’s 123-acre hobby farm near Timmonsville.

Outside, 60 head of Devon cows graze quietly on fields planted with peas, clover, rye and sorghum. There are free-range chickens, too. They strut confidently around the property where agriculture is conducted by design in an environment free of pesticides and other chemicals.

“We built a house here and gradually grew our way into farming,” says Fox, an anesthesiologist who moved his family to the country to explore a healthier lifestyle. “We are trying to choose a way that is cleaner than traditional farming techniques.”

The tilapia, for example, are raised using a symbiotic process known as aquaponics, which circulates water between the fish tanks and adjacent grow beds often filled with tomatoes, okra, cucumbers and onions. The fish produce nutrients for the plants, which in turn help clean the water for the fish. In his pastures, Fox employs a technique called regenerative agriculture to produce nutrient-rich soil that will grow healthy forage for his herd.

Fox says he hopes his farm will serve as a model for other people interested in healthier lifestyles.

“Our country has such a high rate of cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease,” says Fox. “The key to getting away from those problems is good nutrition. And the key to good nutrition is good farming practices.”